An HCA Healthcare hospital in Richmond, Va., is temporarily suspending admissions to its neonatal intensive care unit after discovering three infants with what the hospital called "unexplainable fractures" in late November and December. 

Some evidence shows hospital infection preventionists may be able to spend less time monitoring hand hygiene, according to a study published Dec. 19 in the American Journal of Infection Control.

Medical innovations in 2024 include progress in xenotransplantation and first-time FDA approvals, ABC News reported Dec. 23. 

As some physicians decide to forgo routinely checking patient weight, others still consider weigh-ins a vital part of patient care, according to a Dec. 26 report from The New York Times.

A New York system is rescheduling Dec. 26 in-person appointments at its health and wellness plaza because of a water main break. 

Emergency department physicians vary widely in their decisions about whether to admit a patient, and individuals hospitalized by physicians with higher readmission rates are more likely to be discharged within 24 hours, according to a new study led by researchers at Los Angeles-based UCLA Health. 

In response to declining childhood vaccinations and rising infection rates across the U.S., HHS has launched a vaccine education campaign, encouraging parents to make informed healthcare decisions for their children based on more balanced information.

Federal officials have maintained that the nation's bird flu outbreak does not pose an immediate threat to public health, but infectious disease experts say recent developments indicate the H5N1 virus' spread is widening — and with it, the risks it poses to humans. 

A team at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center set an institutional record by transplanting 10 kidneys in two days using a 20-person chain. 

I spent more than twenty years as a Corporate Director of Infection Prevention for an Integrated Health Care Delivery Network (IDN). During that time, I learned a great deal about managing infection prevention and about corporate leadership culture and priorities. My job was to secure senior leadership support for the major initiatives my team wanted to execute to reduce infection risk. Over the years, communicating the financial impact of our proposals became more fundamental to securing approval due to the increasing financial and operational challenges our organization faced.

Nearing the end of 2024, several insurance companies proposed reducing reimbursements for anesthesia services, particularly claims from certified registered nurse anesthetists. 

Fourteen states and Washington, D.C., are experiencing high or very high levels of respiratory illness, with influenza, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytical virus all contributing to increased healthcare visits across the U.S. 

The FDA shared new guidelines for when manufacturers can label food as "healthy" in a final rule published Dec. 19.

In states with total abortion bans, federal law requires physicians to provide an abortion if it stabilizes an emergency condition, but hospitals are leaving physicians to fend for themselves to navigate this "minefield," according to a Senate Finance Committee report. 

Currently, men make up about 10% of nurses, but that number is steadily growing — and it could mean a brighter future for hospitals and health systems.

Here are 72 organizations launching or expanding nursing programs:

In an interactive session at Becker's 12th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable, two leaders from Illumina — Mike Kreitzinger, lead of health system strategy, and Damon Hostin, lead of market access for health systems — facilitated a discussion with Tom Mikkelsen, MD, medical director of the precision medicine program and clinical trials at Detroit-based Henry Ford Health.

Mandated reporters at hospitals are more likely to suspect Black pediatric patients of abuse than white patients, according to a study published Dec. 18 in JAMA. 

More than 3 million deaths were reported in the U.S. in 2023, with 10 leading causes accounting for more than 70.9% of all fatalities. 

2024 marked a big year for the field of xenotransplantation, with surgical teams at several health systems completing historic procedures that could pave the way for broader adoption of animal-to-human organ transplants.